This invention broadly relates to board games. Specifically the present invention is a tossing game employing magnetic game pieces and magnetic target areas. Art pertinent to the present invention is classified in numerous subclasses within U.S. Pat. Class 273.
Numerous games employing magnetic elements are known in the art. For example, numerous "travel" games employ magnetic playing pieces along with a metallic board. These games are intended to be used in a moving vehicle or the like. The primary purpose of the magnets in such games is to hold the pieces stationary so that a game, such as chess or checkers, can be played without disruption. Upon review of the prior art it is seen that many games employ magnetic fields of alternating polarity to add an element of chance to the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,894 issued Aug. 1, 1978, uses magnetic "parasites" as obstacles and magnetic playing pieces.
Use of magnetic game pieces are evident in patents such as Reilly U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,308 and Riva U.S. Pat. 3,427,029. The former discloses a game which employs both a magnetic target and magnetic pieces. This game is a "shuffle board" type game, in which competitors attempt to dislodge the disc of an opponent. Riva discloses a tic-tac-toe type game that uses the repulsion and attraction of magnetic fields to add an element of chance to the game. Furthermore, it employs game pieces which flip, as a result of magnetic fields.
Magnets are often used to effectuate the movement of game pieces as disclosed in Hay U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,37I issued May 30, 1989. This patent discloses a game board with multiple layers intended to accommodate a number of magnetic control paddles. Basically, this invention is intended for use with games replicating hockey, soccer or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,736, Petrusek, issued Jun. 21, 1977, discloses a tossing game intended to be hung on the wall. The playing board is metallic while the game pieces themselves are magnetic. This game is similar to magnetic darts or the like.
Roberts, U.S. Pat. 5,102,129 issued Apr. 7, 1992, discloses a hopscotch system employing thin sheets of plastic with magnets secured within. The sheets of plastic are intended to be laid out in a variety of hopscotch patterns. A group of markers is tossed onto the sheets to effectuate the play of hopscotch. Additionally, the adjacent magnetic areas are alternately disposed with the poles in opposite directions to add an element of chance to the placement of the markers.
U.S Pat. No. 3,765,679 issued to O'Connell on Oct. 16, 1973 employs magnetic areas disposed below a board and magnetic game pieces. An opponents piece is captured in this game whenever the magnetic field of ones piece is properly aligned to attract the opponents piece.
Schoolcraft U.S. Pat. No. 3,232,620 discloses a game employing magnets hidden below a surface. In particular this game employs paramagnetic portions within a game board to facilitate the play of a game depicting the climbing of a mountain. The game pieces are magnetic as well.
Most pertinent to the present invention, U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,622 issued May 21, 1963, to Sire, discloses a tic-tac-toe game employing magnetic markers and magnetic target areas. This game employs a cue type device to move the markers. The markers are played upon the tic tac toe area in a rebounding fashion off the sidewalls of the game.
It is desirous to provide a game that employs magnetic game pieces and a game surface employing magnetic surfaces wherein the magnetic fields are disposed in alignment. I have found that considerable player enthusiasm results from the challenges in scoring achieved with such an arrangement.
The prior art fails to provide a set of analogous, convertible game modules allowing the use of magnetic fields to attract and otherwise interact with game pieces. Therefore, it is desirous to provide a game system in which different modular overlays may be employed to play various games upon a base incorporating the aforementioned co-polar magnetic areas.